Movements Through The Media

In Chapter 23 the civil rights movement is discussed. Mcadams talks about 6 strategies that must occur in order for social change to happen. The first one is to attract new recruits then sustain the morale and commitment of current adherents and then generate media coverage. Next, mobilize the support of various bystander publics then constrain the social control options of its opponents and finally shape public policy and state action. McAdam’s said that most movements spend time and energy in seeking to attract and shape media coverage of their activities. Graber uses Martin Luther King, Jr.’s approach to get his word across to the public. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference researched the effectiveness of the media “of the close connection between public disruption and media coverage.”
In Chapter 24, Graber talks about communication through media coverage. When the media heightens the issue, then the attention of the issue will be very high. On the other hand, if the issue dies down, the public’s interest of the issue will soon be gone. The attention of the public effects many aspects of news and the people involved such as policy makers. This reading made me think of the political campaigns. They strongly stress their speeches and public campaigns just ask MLK used his public speaking approach.